Ecomm spend pushing $25b for 2011 holidays

Green Monday, one of the hottest online spending days historically, is here. And with it comes news from comScore that the 2011 online holiday spend (US) is already pushing $25 billion; the 2010 online holiday spend was just over $32 billion. So far the holiday ecommerce spend is up 15% Year over Year.

Green Monday has been one of the heaviest online spending days since 2005, when the total for the day ended at $556 million. In 2007, shoppers spend $881 million online and last year $954 million.

"The most recent week of the online holiday shopping season saw growth rates remain in line with the season-to-date at 15% and three individual spending days eclipse the $1 billion threshold," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "We know that Green Monday will rank among the top online spending days of the season, but it's hold on the #1 position may be slipping somewhat over time. One possible reason is that as Free Shipping Day (Friday, December 16 this year) gains in importance each year, online spending during the heaviest week of the season is being more evenly distributed throughout the week, whereas in the past there was a much higher concentration of spending during the early part of the week."

So far in 2011 six individual days have netted at least $1 billion in online sales: November 28, 29 and 30 and December 5, 6, 8. Cyber Monday is the spending winner so far with $1.251 billion is online spending. The total spend sits at $24.6 billion, so it should be a simple thing to surpass the $25 billion mark - possibly by day's end.

As for where shoppers are spending money, if traffic means anything Amazon and Walmart are the top spots. For the week ending December 3, Experian/Hitwise notes Amazon held a 15% share of visits while Walmart held on to 8% of traffic. Target, BestBuy, JC Penney and Kohl's saw 5% or less of traffic for that time period.

Gift cards may be the big winner this holiday season, though, BIGresearch and the NRF predict gift card spending will reach nearly $28 billion this year.